Biography

James Ferguson qualified with an MA (Hons) in economics from Edinburgh University in 1985. For the last 21 years he has had a high-powered career in institutional stock broking, specialising in equities, working for Nomura, Robert Fleming, SBC Warburg, Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein and Mitsubishi Securities.

With commodities no longer driving inflation, deflation is a very real risk. This has huge implications for investors with big holdings in gold. James Ferguson explains why he believes the gold price is due for a fall.

The Japanese have already had their economic crisis. And their experience tells us that state bailouts don’t necessarily make things better, and that things will be very tough for a few years yet. As for house prices…

Fund managers see inflation as a real threat, but with America in – or heading for – recession, we should be more worried about deflation as consumer demand collapses. And that’s bad news for commodities, says James Ferguson.